Daniel Penny: Former US marine who used chokehold on Jordan Neely cleared over his death
A former US marine who used a chokehold to restrain a homeless man on a New York City subway has been found not guilty over his death.
Daniel Penny, 26, was charged with criminally negligent homicide following the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely in May 2023.
Video of the incident appeared on social media and heavily split opinion in the US.
Jordan Neely. Pic: Mills & Edwards LLP
Some praised Mr Penny’s decision to subdue an erratic Mr Neely – who had a history of crime and mental illness – while others accused him of vigilantism against an unarmed black man.
Mr Penny insisted he never intended to kill Mr Neely, who he held in a chokehold for nearly six minutes on the floor of a subway train after it arrived at a station.
On Monday, following a trial which started in October, he was cleared of criminally negligent homicide.
A judge had already dismissed a more serious charge of manslaughter in the second degree against Mr Penny after jurors said they could not reach an agreement.
Mr Penny, who did not give evidence during the trial, left the Manhattan courtroom without commenting to the media following the verdict.
Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not dispute that Mr Neely was loud, angry and threatening as he boarded the train, shouting that he was hungry, thirsty and wanted to be sent back to jail.
However, they alleged Mr Penny used deadly force without justification and for far longer than necessary by grabbing Mr Neely from behind with an arm around his neck and bringing him to the floor.
They also alleged that Mr Penny, who served for four years in the marines and went on to study architecture, was warned by people around him about the risks to Mr Neely’s life and intentionally ignored them.
Jordan Neely. Pic: Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News/TNS
Mr Penny’s lawyers said he was protecting himself and other subway passengers from a volatile, mentally ill man who was making alarming remarks and gestures.
They also claimed Mr Penny was acting out of alarm that Mr Neely might hurt a woman and a child he was approaching.
Lawyer Steven Raiser said his client held Mr Neely “until he knew that he was no longer a threat” but did not apply pressure on his airway during the last crucial moments.
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A medical examiner ruled Mr Neely’s cause of death as compression to the neck – though Mr Penny’s lawyers tried to claim that other causes such as drug usage and sickle cell disease may have been a factor.
Mr Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who was well known in New York City.
He had an extensive criminal record, with previous arrests on charges such as evading fares, theft and assaults on three women.
Following the verdict, his family lawyer Donte Mills said Penny’s acquittal showed “the system” could not be relied on.
He said: “Everyone who’s pissed off about this verdict, I challenge you to go outside today and help one person, that’s how we beat the system, that’s how we turn this around by being there for one another.”
Mr Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, said following the verdict: “It really, really hurts. I had enough of this. The system is rigged.”
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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